Bato talks about bribe money from illegal gambling lords

- PNP Chief Bato Dela Rosa revealed that he had been offered by illegal gambling lords millions of pesos and even asked President Duterte about whether to accept it or not

- The PNP Chief also revealed that his predecessors usually received millions from gambling lords

- Dela Rosa added that the police will focus on fighting illegal gambling after they win the war against illegal drugs

Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Director General Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa said on Thursday that he had been approached by gambling lords to offer him millions of pesos and gain his favor even before assuming the top PNP post.

Dela Rosa claimed that it is common for past PNP chiefs to accept bribe money from big time illegal gambling lords and that he asked the President about the offers.

(I asked the President, ‘what shall I do, sir? Should I accept it? It would be a waste to reject it since it is added income.’ The President said, ‘do not accept it, it will be over for you if you accept it. Your hands will be tied.’)

The crime-busting police general said that he has never accepted bribe money in his long career. For this reason, Dela Rosa said that the illegal gambling drug lords are now having problems thinking of ways to bribe him.

Dela Rosa added that President Rodrigo Duterte’s war against criminality will soon shift focus from illegal drugs to illegal gambling.

“You just wait. After 6 months, if we win our campaign against illegal drugs, we will shift our efforts. We’ll hit illegal gambling,” Bato promised during his speech in General Santos City.

Duterte and Dela Rosa’s aggressive team-up against illegal drugs have resulted in a dramatic increase in police arrests and kills of suspected drug criminals. However, the number of summary executions all over the country has also increased since the two crime-fighters assumed their posts, leading to a number of human rights complaints from various sectors. – Kami Media